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About the Author More ArticlesAbout Leah BroukhimLeah Broukhim is a junior at Beverly Hills High School. In a normally working system, sound first is collected by the pinna, which is the cartilage portion of the ear that is visible on the outside. When the vibrations sent to the inner ear are too strong it can damage the eardrum, ossicles, or cochlea.
If you would like to speak with one of our physicians regarding this issue or another ear, nose, throat problem; or have other questions or concerns, please complete the contact form below or call us at 310-657-0123. There is no point in an all-singing all-dancing testing service if the report you get means nothing to you.
Additional detail for all referred individuals and all individuals where problems were identified, whether referred or not.
One of the first choices any audiometry provider has to make is the equipment which is used to do the tests. In HSMC's case, we then also chose a style of unit which (almost uniquely as most models of audiometer don't feature this) as well as printing the individual's audiometry result in a large clear graph with the numerical values given below, it also gives the anticipated thresholds for someone of their age.
As mentioned above, age is a critically important factor in audiometry as, along with unusual ear hair, a gut that just won't go and an inability to sit down in a chair without grunting, hearing is just one of those things that often gets worse as we plod along in life.
This audiometry chart shows the left ear to be good and above the warning levels while the results for the right ear are heavily reduced. This audiometry chart is a good example of the type of result in which we are interested in workplace audiometry. Today, research has shown that even hearing losses of only a few decibels can cause significant hearing problems. The term Noise Induced Hearing Loss describes the effects of exposure to dangerous levels of sound either abruptly, like the sound of an explosion, or over extended periods of time, that in some cases occur over years, as in the case of a career in a hazardously loud working environment.

Exposure to hazardous levels of sound can damage or destroy the fragile hair cells (called Stereocilia, pictured below) located in the inner ear that are necessary for hearing. Noise Induced Hearing Loss describes the damage that develops over time or abruptly from exposure to hazardous levels of sound. She is a member of the Science Olympiad Team, tutors elementary students, and volunteers at Sunrise Senior Living.
It is designed to provide reliable medical information in a format that is easy to understand. A lot of our work is done for companies with no in-house speciality therefore we make sure all our reports contain information which is meaningful to a lay person. First and foremost is accuracy - its no good having something which wanders off in its own direction every few months.
There is a faint red line visible on the audiogram above which simply put is the lower limit of acceptability and this changes with the age of the employee.
A difference between the two ears such as this is a classic unilateral result for someone who has suffered accidental damage to one ear for example. The audiogram gives a good indication that the individual is suffering from a degree of noise induced hearing loss, (in this case, it is the graph of one of our technicians and was caused by a feckless studenthood spending far too long in noisy nighclubs!).
The vibrations are sent to three smaller bones (ossicles) within the ear called the malleus, incus, and stapes.
As Chief of Medical Resources, I hold an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles and a graduate degree in Medical Science from the University of Southern California.
Alongside this, we always have an eye on the fact that reports may often be read by specialists therefore we also make sure that all the technical information they may need is also present. As we all know, when you've spoken to any specialist about anything vaguely medical they tell you what it all means and we sit there and nod meaningfully, then a week or a month later haven't got a clue what it was they were on about but remember them having a nice shiny pen in their pocket!

By having the dotted black and red lines on the chart we can give attendees a steady reference point and hopefully help them understand it that little bit better. This is classically evidenced by the dip seen at around the 4,000Hz level, followed by a recovery up to 8,000Hz.
These smaller bones send the vibrations to the cochlea (a snail shaped sac of fluid), causing tiny hair cells in the cochlea to bend.
By printing the anticipated age thresholds on the graph along with their result we get a nice clear point of reference for the attendee - 'this is where you are' and 'this is where we expect you to be'. These hair cells are attached to nerves and when they bend, it produces an electrical signal which is carried to the brain. If any images that appear on the website are in Violation of Copyright Law or if you own copyrights over any of them and do not agree with it being shown here, please also contact us and We will remove the offending information as soon as possible.. She researched and wrote this article as part of the Student Mentorship Program through Osborne Head and Neck Foundation. Firstly, there is the comparison against the medical history of the person to see if there is a known reason for any observed losses. Secondly the results are compared against any previous audiometry to identify any changes which may have taken place.